Between Crosses and Stars

4) Days of Fear

September 3rd, 1940

It was not until Marie-Lu heard steps approaching the door, that she realized she still held Tommy's cross tightly. That is why she was there, to return it to his mother, right? But as the doorknob turned she changed her mind, shoving the necklace inside her pocket. Tommy had given it to her. He trusted it upon her, and while he was risking his life for her she could not deny him this little thing he asked. Or she just really wanted that tiny piece of him to be with her.

Before Mrs. Baines' smiling face appeared on the door, Marie-Lu ran to the side of the house. She heard the women inquire who was there while she climbed the window to their personal tiny library. Mrs. Baines was a voracious reader, and her husband thought it fit that she had her own bookish sanctuary. Marie-Lu and her friends used to go there to do homework together. The place just made them be productive, at least as productive as you can be with other four friends.

She glanced at the glass table by the chair just next to the window she had just used to get into the house. She remembered one day when she was 8 and Tommy was still 7, they were playing 'find the marbles', a game Marie-Lu invented so she could still play with the boys even though she could not play marbles to save her life. It consisted of someone hiding ten marbles through the house and the others would have to find it. The girl decided to place one of the tiny balls under the table, however as she got up from the ground, in her childish excitement to continue playing the game, she forgot about the table on top of her head and scraped her eyebrow in the sharp corner. She did not feel the pain immediately and continued to hide the marbles. Once she was done and went to get Tommy so he could start his search, he looked at her and gave a shriek of fear. They ran to the bathroom and she saw how bloody her forehead was, it was truly a scary scene, but the one that started crying was Tommy.

"You are going to die! We need to tell my mother." He said between his tears.

The young Marie-Lu was afraid of getting in trouble so she convinced Tommy that no grown-ups needed to know about it. She cleaned her face and all trails of the incident were erased while Tommy still cried like a baby. She still teased him about it.

Marie-Lu walked slowly to the door hoping the wooden floor would not alert the people in the house that she was there. But a furry friend came barging in the room, jumping at her and barking. Knight, blame Tommy for the name, was a big, scary-looking dog that did not do justice to his appearance at all. He loved guests and, luckily for Marie-Lu, he went silent once you rubbed his neck. She hoped no one made a case about Knight barking, and pulled him along to peak at the corridor. Upon seeing no one was there, she made a run for the second floor, Knight excitedly followed. She went straight to the second door on the right and left only a crack of it open.

She stood in the center of the room not sure of what to do now. He was not there.

She breathed deeply in hopes his smell would still be in his things, but the windows were left open and she only caught the smell of the rain that was coming. She looked at the vinyl player by his working table, a shelf full of vinyls beside it. She walked to it and took the first album she touched. Duke Ellington. That was his newest acquisition. Oh, how Tommy was attached to those things. He did not let Leith close to it for his life, she remembered with a smile. In fact, he wasn't fond of anyone touching it. So, she ran her hands across the collection and took another one from its organized place. Guy Lombardo. It was childish but she half expected that Tommy would feel someone messing with his precious vinyls and come running home. But he did not. He was still fighting for his country, he had promised her that he would kill the enemy, and she felt so filthy for accepting his promise.

One tear fell on the face of Guy Lombardo on her lap, and then another, and another. Even Knight seemed to feel that that was not the right time to bark.